Set-in sleeve former

ABSTRACT

A fabric former and method for shaping sleeves and the like from a flat fabric comprises a base and an upright support on the base including a rigid backing member having a rounded top edge with a pad thereon to simulate curvature of the shoulder cap. The pad is marked with indicia for a particular armhole size. The cut fabric also has indicia for a particular armhole size which is first aligned with the indicia on the pad and then pinned in place thereon. Repeated steam-pressing and drying shape the cut fabric of the desired curvature while being held in place on the former.

United States Patent [15] 3,653,135 Jones 5] Apr. 4, 1972 [54] SET-INSLEEVE FORMER 3,229,393 1/1966 Kroenke ..38/135 3 317 094 5/1967Schmid.... [72] lnventor: Helen S. Jones, 2512 South University,

Denver Colo. 80120 3,473,707 10/1969 James ..223/57 [22] Filed: May 18,1970 Primary Examiner-Partick D. Lawson [52] US. Cl ..38/135, 223/72[51] Int. Cl. ..D06f8l/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..38/14l,l44,100,99,135,38/69, 70, 15-17; 223/2, 52, 52.1, 61, 72, 73, 57, 66

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,619,268 11/1952 Asher..223/52.1 2,842,875 7/1958 Spano .38/16 3,167,872 2/1965 Johnson....38/l35 3,191,822 6/1965 Gipperth ..38/141 X Assistant Examiner-Geo.V. Larkin Attorney-Reilly and Lewis [57] ABSTRACT A fabric former andmethod for shaping sleeves and the like from a flat fabric comprises abase and an upright support on the base including a rigid backing memberhaving a rounded top edge with a pad thereon to simulate curvature ofthe shoulder cap. The pad is marked with indicia for a particulararmhole size. The cut fabric also has indicia for a particular armholesize which is first aligned with the indicia on the pad and then pinnedin place thereon. Repeated steam-pressing and drying shape the cutfabric of the desired curvature while being held in place on the former.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAFR 4 m2 INVEN TOR ATTORNEYS SET-INSLEEVE FORMER This invention in general relates to forms or supports forshaping a flat fabric in the making of parts of garments and moreparticularly to a novel and improved former and method for use inshaping set-in sleeves and the like prior to sewing them into thegarment.

The set-in sleeves of high quality garments have no excess gathers orpleats along the top of the sleeve cap. Of all the types of sleevesfound in clothing construction the set-in sleeve presents the greatestproblem as to avoiding excess gathers or pleats because the cut fabricof a set-in sleeve measures larger than the armhole. Because of this thesleeve must be eased or carefully fitted in the armhole.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel andimproved former for sleeves and the like on which the cut fabric may beplaced to shape it to conform to the curvature of the shoulder and thatof a particular armhole size and be formed thereon to accurately fitthat armhole prior to sewing it in place.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improvedformer for set-in sleeves and the like which provides a firm support forthe cut fabric during steam-pressing, is selfsupporting to maintain thefabric in an upright, readily accessible position and will retain itsshape for reuse many times.

A further object of this invention is to provide a former for makingset-in sleeves which can be collapsed to a smaller dimension for storingwhen not in use.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel andimproved method of easily and efficiently forming the desired curvaturein a cut fabric for a particular armhole and a further object is toprovide a novel former for use in carrying out the improved method.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a formercomprising a base portion and a shoulder support which is disposedupright for use and pivots to a collapsed position for storage. Theshoulder support has a pad along a substantially semicircular top edgeand across the front face and is rounded between the top edge and frontface to simulate the shape of a shoulder. This padded support provides afirm body for a cut of fabric and it is marked according to thedimension of a particular armhole of the garment. The cut fabric ormaterial for a sleeve has indicia along its curved edge which is alignedwith the indicia on the pad and the cut fabric is then pinned in place.The cut fabric is repeatedly steampressed and dried on the former untilit takes the desired curvature.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a garment with a set-insleeve;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a fabric former embodying featuresof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a fabric former shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the former shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is anelevation view of a cut fabric with a draw thread sewn along the topedge; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a former having the cut fabric pinned inplace for steam-pressing.

Referring now to the drawings, a finished garment with a set-in sleeveis illustrated at 11 in FIG. 1 and as shown the sleeve is curved alongthe cap portion 11a of the sleeve thereof to conform to the shoulder ofthe wearer. The usual difficulty with set-in sleeves is that the sleevecap measures larger than the armhole and must be eased into position toavoid excess gathers or pleats where the sleeve cap joins the armholeportion of the garment.

The fabric former 12 shown for shaping the cut fabric comprises a base13 and a shoulder form or support 14 pivotally mounted on the base 13 bymeans of a pair of spaced hinges 15 and 16 fastened to the base and thesupport so that the support 14 may pivot rearwardly to a collapsedposition as represented in dashed lines at 14a and in this collapsedposition the support 14 is disposed parallel to the top of base 13. Areleasable lock or latch for the support 14 including an eyelet 18extending through the front face of the support and a hook 19 attachedto the top of the base 13 are provided to hold the support 14 in anupright position and firmly in place so that the assembly isself-supporting during the use thereof.

The base 13 is of rectangular shape with flat top and bottom surfacesand straight ends and preferably is made of wood. The shoulder support14 includes a backing member or shoulder board 21 of a generallyrectangular shape and has a straight lower' end and a curvedsemicircular contour at the other end. The semicircular shape isprovided to match the configuration of the upper half of the armholeopening. The shoulder board 21 preferably is made of wood. A cap-likecushion or pad 22 is placed across the front face of the backing member21 and over the top curved edge and is secured to the rear face as withstaples 23 which penetrate the backing member 21. This provides a shapecharacterized by curvature across the top of the support and between thetop and front faces to simulate the shape of a shoulder. Pad 22comprises an outer fabric layer 22a and inner padding 22b. Pad 22permits the insertion of pins into the former and the backing member orboard 21 provides a firm support for the fabric to hold it in placeduring steam-pressing as described hereinafter.

The cut fabric 25, as best shown in FIG. 6, has a curved upper edge 25awhich terminates in a pair of straight side edges 25b and 25c and whenfolded into the sleeve shape overlap one another to form the sleevehole. The curved upper edge 25a of the cut fabric has indicia located atthe center and on each side represented as arrows at 26, 27 and 28,respectively. A draw thread 29 is shown stitched inwardly along thecurved edge 25a to pull the fabric into place on the former as describedhereinafter. The pad 22 is marked at the center and on each side withindicia represented as Xs 31, 32 and 33, respectively.

In the use of the former 12, the cut fabric 25 is placed on the paddedupright support 14 with the curved upper surface 250 being disposedalong the forward face of the semicircular top end and the draw thread29 is pulled from both directions until the indicia on the pad matchesthe indicia on the cut sleeve fabric. Only they line up, the cut fabric25 is then pinned into place on the pad by pins 35. A steam iron, notshown, is then used to steam-press the sleeve fabric into shape. Thesteampressing and drying is repeated until the fabric is smooth andconforms to the former. The shaped sleeve is then removed from theformer and stitched to the garment at the armhole so that the finishedset-in sleeve will take the appearance of that shown in FIG. 1.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the advantage of hinging theshoulder board to the base is that it permits it to be set for use in anupright position and when not in use can be collapsed. The pad on arigid board backing has the advantage of providing a firm support intowhich pins may be inserted and the combined base and upright board isself-supporting to maintain the cut fabric in an upright position whichis handy to work on.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade by way of example and that changes in details of structure andmethod may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A fabric former for shaping the cap portion of a sleeve adapted to besewn along the armhole and the like comprising a rigid base and a rigidshoulder board pivotally mounted on the base to move from an uprightposition to a horizontal collapsed position, said shoulder board havingsubstantially flat front and rear faces and flat sides with asemi-circular shaped top edge curved convexly across its width andhaving the junccorresponding to the dimension of a particular armholeand sized to match up the upper cap portion of the sleeve with the upperhalf of the armhole and support a cut material pinned to the pad, and areleasable lock to hold the shoulder board in an upright position onsaid base.

1. A fabric former for shaping the cap portion of a sleeve adapted to besewn along the armhole and the like comprising a rigid base and a rigidshoulder board pivotally mounted on the base to move from an uprightposition to a horizontal collapsed position, said shoulder board havingsubstantially flat front and rear faces and flat sides with asemi-circular shaped top edge curved convexly across its width andhaving the juncture between the front face and top edge rounded alongthe top edge to simulate the curvature of the cap portion of a shoulder,a caplike pad mounted on said top edge and extending across the frontface of the shoulder board, said pad being secured to the shoulder boardalong the rear face of the shoulder board, said pad including an outerfabric layer and an inner resilient filler layer, said top edge and padhaving indicia corresponding to the dimension of a particular armholeand sized to match up the upper cap portion of the sleeve with the upperhalf of the armhole and support a cut material pinned to the pad, and areleasable lock to hold the shoulder board in an upright position onsaid base.